‘He had a certain swag’: Boy, 12, killed in hit-and-run remembered

The pain of losing her 12-year-old son won’t ever leave Martina Suarez, but a memorial gathering Saturday with hundreds in attendance served as a reminder about how loved he was.

“It’s already been a month and I honestly didn’t even want anything else,” Suarez said. “I didn’t do anything to organize this, so I don’t know how they got so many people here.”

Cristofer Suarez, a student at Smith Middle School in North Las Vegas, was walking to school near East Owens Avenue and North 21st Street on Oct. 3 when he was struck by an SUV and thrown into a fence. He died three days later at University Medical Center.

A proud member of the mariachi program at Smith Middle School, called Mariachi Los Bravos, Suarez was a confident young bandolon player, according to Thomas Garibay, a guitar teacher at the school.

“He had a go-for-it attitude and was very determined to be the best,” Garibay said. “He had a certain swag to him, a certain confidence and that’s what you need in mariachi. He did everything you could ask for in a student who is involved in extracurricular activities.”

Celebration of life

Saturday’s memorial celebration and raffle, also referred to as a kermesse, which took place at a small event space in east Las Vegas, featured dozens of middle school mariachi performers, complete with their mariachi costumes.

Onlookers listened to live mariachi music from a number of middle school programs from around the valley, and munched on hot dogs, tamales, chicharrones and nachos. Some, including his mother, wore T-shirts commemorating Suarez.

Martina Suarez said she’ll remember how confident her son was, even at a young age.

“He wasn’t a follower,” she said. “There wasn’t anything that you could tell him that he couldn’t do. He was himself all the time and he believed in himself.”

While at a court hearing last month, Suarez said her son’s organs were donated — something he had told her he wanted.

Calls for safer streets

The driver who hit Cristofer Suarez was identified by police as Oh’Ryan Brooks, who police said fled the scene of the crash. Officers traced the vehicle to a nearby apartment complex and arrested Brooks, who police said showed signs of impairment.

He was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit-and-run. Brooks is scheduled to have a competency hearing before a Las Vegas judge on Nov. 21.

Following the crash, Brooks admitted to taking “a few hits” from a THC vape pen, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main chemical in marijuana that causes people to feel “high” or intoxicated.

Martina Suarez said drivers in the Las Vegas Valley need to be better, especially when operating a vehicle near a school.

“If you know there’s kids in an area, there’s no way you should be driving over 20 mph,” she said. “The fact that there’s so many similar things happening here, it’s so sad. People need to be aware. Being late is nothing compared to killing someone. When you do stuff like that, you ruin a lot of people’s lives.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.